COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Steve Bultman, the longtime head women's swimming & diving coach at Texas A&M, has announced that he will retire following the 2023-2024 season.
Bultman has been with Texas A&M since 1999, and prior to his addition, the Aggie swimming & diving team had struggled to produce substantial results at the conference championships or break the top 10 at a national meet. He helped turn that around, pushing the Aggies at one point to a 12-year streak of top 10 finishes at NCAA championships, also propelling the team to Big 12 championship trophies in 2007, 2008, 2010, and 2012.
Prior to joining Texas A&M, Bultman had served coaching stints at LSU--his alma mater--and Georgia.
When Texas A&M joined the SEC, the Aggies began adding more championships to their trophy case starting in 2016, capturing four consecutive championships through 2019. In 2017 and 2018, A&M had their highest-ever finish at the national meets, finishing in third both times.
"My time at Texas A&M has been awesome and I'm proud of what we have been able to accomplish," Bultman said in a news release on 12thman.com. "I have had a lot of help in getting to accomplish these great things and would like to thank all of my past and present assistant coaches and staff. I can't believe it's been 25 years - it seems like it was just a few years ago when I was hired. I've really enjoyed my time here, Texas A&M is a great school academically and we have great facilities and support. Our athletics department wants and supports all our teams to do well. It's bittersweet - I will miss coaching and working with the swimmers, but I look forward to spending more time with family and friends. I've got about six more months and I'm looking forward to some great swims at SECs and NCAAs, and some big long course swims as we finish up this Olympic cycle."
Bultman's individual accolades as a coach have also been recognized on multiple instances. In December 2021, he was named to the CSCAA Top 100 Swimming & Diving Coaches of the Century, and that same year was inducted into the International Swimming Coaches Hall of Fame. In 2015, he was also inducted into the American Swim Coaches Hall of Fame. Additionally, Bultman is a nine-time conference Coach of the Year and has earned Coach of the Meet honors seven times.
The soon-to-be-former coach's accolades extend beyond collegiate competition, however, as he has been a part of multiple Olympic team staffs for Team USA, the Estonian Olympic Team, and the Mexican Olympic Team. Bultman has also produced 19, Olympic swimmers, 16 of which were during his time at A&M.
"Over the course of his career, Coach Bultman has led the women's swimming & diving program to unprecedented success, and more importantly, he has been influential in the lives and development of hundreds of young women," said Deputy Athletics Director for Administration and Leadership Kristen Brown in a news release on 12thman.com. "What he has accomplished at Texas A&M, internationally, and both in and out of the pool throughout his storied career speaks volumes about who he is a coach, but also as a human. It has been an honor to work alongside of him, and we congratulate Coach Bultman on an outstanding career and a well-deserved retirement. We look forward to celebrating him throughout the remainder of the season."
Click here to read the full release on 12thman.com.
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